With Arcane Sword 3.0 finally complete, Lewis admired the elegant weapon in his hand as it shifted effortlessly between the forms of a wand and a longsword.
The more he looked at it...
The more satisfied he became.
This was exactly the kind of equipment he had always wanted.
As he examined his new wand, a sudden idea came to him.
Why not create a special holster for it?
Normally, the wand would remain stored inside the device.
Whenever he needed it—no matter how urgent the situation—all he would have to do was raise his hand, and the wand would instantly fly into his grasp.
No more fumbling around trying to find his wand in the middle of combat.
Furthermore, he wanted to connect the wand to the holster with a chain.
That way, even if someone cast the Disarming Charm or knocked it away by other means, he wouldn't lose it.
To satisfy all those requirements...
The best choice was some kind of wrist-mounted equipment.
After listing all the necessary functions, Lewis immediately thought of the Hidden Blade from Assassin's Creed.
The Hidden Blade concealed a retractable blade within a bracer or gauntlet.
Through an ingenious mechanical mechanism, a simple movement of the user's wrist would cause the blade to spring out instantly.
Of course...
Such purely mechanical mechanisms were far too outdated.
Wizards constantly performed wrist movements while casting spells.
A mechanism that depended on those motions would interfere with spellcasting.
Fortunately...
Wizards had magical solutions.
Many mechanical components could simply be replaced with magical runes.
The main body of his new Hidden Wand—more accurately, his Sleeve Wand—would be a leather bracer crafted from basilisk hide.
There was simply too much basilisk skin.
Even now, over ninety-five percent of it was still sitting unused in storage.
After treating it with magic, Lewis fashioned it into a sturdy wrist guard.
On the inner side, he carved a narrow groove approximately ten centimeters long to house the wand.
Naturally...
He also cast an Extension Charm on the compartment.
After all, his wand had been designed to match the distance from his wrist to his elbow.
Without an Extension Charm, the end of the wand would be sticking into his elbow joint.
Next...
Using the remaining goblin silver, he forged a slender chain connecting the base of the wand to the bracer.
He also permanently enchanted the bracer with the cantrip Launch Object, carefully adjusting its force.
To everyone else...
The item on Lewis's wrist appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary leather bracer.
But with a single thought...
The spell would launch the wand directly into his waiting hand.
Fast.
Concealed.
Convenient.
Finally...
He embedded a magic-storing gemstone into the bracer itself.
It granted the Sleeve Wand the ability to store up to three spells below the Sixth Circle.
Once activated...
Those spells would travel through the mithril chain into the wand before being released.
Thanks to that delicate silver chain...
The bracer had effectively become an extension of the wand itself.
If Lewis ever wanted to add more functions in the future...
It would be far easier to install them on the bracer.
After all...
Whether in surface area or internal space, the bracer offered far more room than the wand itself.
To prevent anyone from noticing he'd changed wands, Lewis also permanently enchanted the Sleeve Wand with Silent Image.
To outside observers...
His wand looked exactly the same as before.
Its material appeared unchanged.
Even the mithril chain remained completely invisible.
Lewis happily fastened the Sleeve Wand around his forearm.
After repeatedly drawing and retracting the wand, he found the system remarkably smooth and intuitive.
Testing it against the practice dummies in his training room, he cast several spells.
Its performance far exceeded that of his previous wand.
The bracer's spell-storage function was equally impressive.
Even while the wand had transformed into its longsword form...
He could instantly unleash stored Fifth-Circle Prismatic Ray spells without spending time casting them.
Besides upgrading the Arcane Sword...
Lewis had another important task.
Brewing permanent attribute elixirs.
Six cauldrons bubbled away inside the workshop.
Each contained a different type of permanent attribute potion.
Of course...
That didn't mean Lewis had already gathered every rare ingredient he ultimately wanted.
For the Strength Elixir...
His chosen ingredient was the hearts of every species of dragon.
At present, he was still missing two varieties.
As for the Agility Elixir...
Obtaining kneazle claws through Onyxia's connections wasn't difficult.
However...
Compared to chimeras, feathered serpents, or even the dragons he planned to use eventually...
Kneazles were still somewhat lacking.
Lewis was still considering better options.
For the Intelligence Elixir...
He had tentatively settled on phoenix feathers.
Those would be the easiest to obtain.
The Charisma Elixir...
Still had no suitable ingredient.
Fortunately...
None of that prevented him from brewing standard versions of the permanent attribute potions.
Ever since Onyxia joined the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures...
Acquiring rare magical beast materials had become dramatically easier.
These ordinary permanent attribute elixirs weren't intended for Lewis himself.
They were prepared for Sherry...
Tonks...
Gianna...
And his other allies.
Now that Lewis had publicly established the Society of Erudition...
Strengthening his own side naturally couldn't be neglected.
It wasn't long before the final batch of potions finished brewing.
Lewis carefully bottled each type separately.
Only then was his day's work finally complete.
After activating the workshop's self-cleaning enchantments...
He left.
Only then did he realize...
Night had already fallen.
Without noticing...
He had spent the entire day working.
At the same time, an overwhelming hunger struck him.
He felt like he could eat an entire cow.
When he climbed from the basement into the first-floor sitting room, he discovered it was already quite lively.
Gianna...
Tonks...
And Onyxia...
Had all Flooed into the tower.
Gianna and Tonks were comfortably lounging on the sofa, chatting with Sherry.
Meanwhile...
Onyxia was racing around the living room, desperately chasing Aiwu with sparkling eyes.
"Aiwu!"
"You little thing!"
"For the sake of our shared dragon bloodline, just let me pet you once!"
She looked exactly like an obsessed fangirl.
Aiwu flapped her tiny wings as she bounded from one sofa to another before leaping onto the table.
Every so often she looked back, stuck out her tongue, and continued refusing to let Onyxia touch her.
"Bleh!"
"You big mean dragon!"
"You'll never catch me!"
The little dragon taunted her while flying away.
Sure enough...
Even among dragons...
Chaotic Good and Chaotic Evil simply couldn't coexist peacefully.
The moment Lewis stepped into the living room...
Everyone turned toward him.
"Hey, Lewis!"
"You finally came downstairs."
"If Sherry hadn't told us you've been disappearing into your workshop every day lately, we'd have thought some dragon kidnapped you."
Tonks laughed.
Before Lewis could answer...
Two others immediately objected.
"You're overthinking it, Tonks."
"Even I couldn't kidnap the little guy."
"What dragon could possibly manage it?"
"Aiwu would never kidnap Lewis!"
"Who's the good little dragon?"
"It's Aiwu!"
Tonks scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Sorry..."
"I keep forgetting the two of you are dragons."
Then she looked at Lewis with a nostalgic smile.
"It's already been two years since we first met, hasn't it?"
"I never imagined that the genius little wizard who saved my life out in the wilderness would turn out to be hiding so many secrets."
"Honestly..."
"Even now, whenever I remember that Catalina is actually a dragon..."
"I still can't help marveling at how strange the world can be."
"Perhaps that's simply how life works," Lewis replied with a smile as he sat down beside Tonks and Sherry.
Gianna had already stood up.
She walked into the kitchen before returning with an enormous tray of food.
She placed it in front of Lewis.
"You've been working in your workshop all day."
"You must be starving."
"Eat something first."
The tray was piled high with cauldron cakes, lemon sherbets, buttered toast, bacon, and countless other foods.
Lewis's appetite instantly returned.
He began devouring everything in sight.
Between mouthfuls, he said,
"Gianna really is the only one who takes good care of me."
"You knew I'd be hungry."
"Unlike these two."
"They just sat there watching."
Being called out so directly...
Tonks and Sherry both laughed awkwardly.
Neither of them was particularly good at taking care of people.
Even Aiwu looked embarrassed.
She quietly rubbed against Lewis's leg.
Only Onyxia protested loudly.
"Hey, brat!"
"Don't you think you're asking for a bit too much?"
"You've already enslaved a Black Dragon Princess and made her work for you."
"Now you expect her to fuss over you too?"
"Why don't you just go live inside Ysera's dream?"
"So..."
Lewis raised an eyebrow.
"You know you've been enslaved, yet you still dare to talk back."
"I think you're the one living in Ysera's dream."
He calmly set down his glass of iced soda.
Then...
He snapped his fingers.
In the next instant...
The Black Dragon Princess transformed into a black cat.
" Lewis Green!"
"How dare you—"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Lewis shrugged indifferently before continuing his meal.
Aiwu, however...
Was absolutely delighted.
The moment Onyxia became a cat...
The roles instantly reversed.
The hunter had become the hunted.
The two dragons immediately resumed their chase around the living room.
By the time Lewis finally finished eating...
Gianna cleared away the dishes.
Sherry thoughtfully leaned over and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
Apparently...
After being teased earlier, she had decided to become more attentive.
Once Gianna returned to the sitting room...
Lewis looked around at everyone and smiled.
"Aren't any of you curious about what I've been busy with these past few days?"
He slowly raised his arm.
"I think..."
"It's finally time to show you all your special Christmas presents."
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